For whatever reason, I found myself driving to Fantasm. It might have been because Jack was occupied with his new girlfriend, and none of my usual, upscale and pompous haunts sounded the least bit inviting, especially since most people I normally socialized with knew by now that I'd blown a major partnership deal. I wasn't in the mood to face any of them. Or maybe Fantasm was just a place more suited to my mood. And of course, there was the fact that I had a crazy urge to watch Shay on stage. I couldn't deny that I was disappointed that she'd turned me down. It sure would have been nice to have one thing go right, to find some small sliver of success after a long stretch of failure.

The parking lot was packed, and loud music thrummed through the thin walls of the bar. I headed inside and stopped by the counter for a beer. The dancer on stage had just finished her routine and was collecting cash from the appreciative audience. Rocky was racing back and forth behind the bar with a red face. He kept wiping his forehead with the dishtowel he had draped over his shoulder.

I sidled up to the bar.

Rocky pointed at me. "The usual?"

"Yep."

He returned seconds later with my beer. "What a night," he grunted. "Ruby and two of the girls are out with the flu. Guess it's going around." He hurried off to help the next customer.

I made my way to the front corner near the stage where a counter lined the wall to hold drinks. All the seats and tables were taken, but I wasn't planning to stay long. The dancer who had just finished, Roxie, I think, disappeared off stage but emerged quickly through the side door to mingle with the customers. She headed straight toward me with her glitter covered skin and see through blouse. Her red hair had been braided like a school girl, which went along with the short plaid skirt she'd pulled back on over her g-string.

She leaned right up against me, pressing her hip against my fly. "Hello, handsome, haven't seen you in here lately. Are you interested in a personal strip show in the back room? I'll give you my special rate of twenty dollars."

"I think I'll just drink my beer. Thank you though."

"Fine, but you're missing out," she said with a far less flirty tone. She sashayed away in her school girl costume. Rocky was so busy tending his bar, the music started up without his usual introduction.

The second Shay's long, silky leg slipped between the parted drape panels at the back of the stage, the audience roared. She tossed back the curtains and stepped onto the stage. Her brown eyes glittered in the wavering stage lights as she smiled out from under the brim of her shiny black top hat.

I drank my beer and watched with as much undivided attention as the other men in the audience. My cock was throbbing and pushing against the fly of my jeans. After Shay left my house, I briefly went through a list of other women who I thought could be tempted into my unorthodox plan, but I couldn't come up with one name. I needed someone who made me horny as hell and someone who I'd never touched before. I needed to drive myself nuts with thinking about how she'd feel naked beneath me, my cock pumping into her. Shay fit all the qualifications. Hell, I'd already spent a good deal of time visualizing her in my bed, her long legs spread wide and her nipples tight with anticipation.

Shay slipped out of her black tail coat. The final sleeve dripped off the end of her hand, and she twirled the coat once before flinging it to the back of the stage. Her long leg kicked up and around, a move that made a man with long greasy hair and a neck tattoo lunge out of his seat. He stood at the edge of the stage leering at Shay and swiping his tongue around his mouth. Normally Rocky would have made him sit down, but he was swamped with customers at the bar. Shay ignored him and continued with her routine.

Her long fingers wrapped around the stripper pole. She curled her body around it, hugging it between her thighs as she peeled her body gracefully away from the pole. She arched her back and landed her hands on the stage beneath her head and shoulders. Then, one at a time, her long legs arced through the air and over her head. She was incredibly talented and athletic, which only made her that much more sensuous. This place was a pit, and Rocky didn't deserve to have her on his warped, ugly stage.

Shay stood and leaned all the way down, sweeping her arms around in a circle. As she swung back the other way, the greasy haired creep reached out and grabbed her hand. He pulled her sharply to her knees at the edge of the stage.

I shot across the floor and grabbed his wrist. It was thick, like the rest of him. His bitter smelling breath shot my way as he growled in anger. I squeezed down on his wrist like an iron clamp. The other spectators cheered me on, mad as hell that the asshole had stopped the dance.

"Let her arm go, or I will twist yours clean away from your shoulder," I said through a clenched jaw.

The man was a few teeth short as he sneered back at me. "I'd like to see you try." Reluctantly, he released Shay. She shot to her feet and rubbed her wrist as she backed away from the edge of the stage.

The toothless idiot stared back at me, but I wasn't ready to let go of him. I badly wanted to hurt the fucker for yanking Shay to her knees. I wanted to rip his arm clean off for touching her. I was about to make good on my threat when Rocky's angry voice shot through the spectators cheering me on.

"Nash, no fighting in this bar." Rocky pushed through the layers of onlookers and reached the center of their attention. "Let him go. I'll deal with him."

I gave the man's arm a bone bruising squeeze before releasing him. I couldn't stop myself. I had no idea where the eruption of anger had come from, but I wanted to strangle the asshole. I moved toe to toe with him. He was a few inches taller and a good fifty pounds bigger, but it was mostly useless fat.

I jammed my finger in his face. "Don't you ever grab her again."

Rocky put a bracing hand on my shoulder. "I said I'd take care of this."

Some of the blood cooled in my head. I stepped back out of the way. My eyes swept up to the stage. Shay stood there, her brown eyes shiny with tears, rubbing her wrist. Our gazes locked for a second before she spun around and ran off stage. The audience booed and stomped the floor, wanting their favorite dancer to come back out.

Rocky waved his hand in the air to silence them. "A beer on the house for all of you."

That appeased them quickly. He turned to the greasy haired jerk. "We have strict rules around here. You broke about ten just now, so get out and don't come back."

I flashed a victorious grin at the man as he scowled my direction. He grabbed his coat and dragged the chair it hung on for a few feet before kicking it away. He smacked the door hard on his way out.

Rocky turned back to me. "Thanks for helping out. Now I've got a hundred beers to fill."

"Wait"—I pulled out my wallet and handed him a hundred dollar bill—"To help with the cost."

Rocky nodded in gratitude and took the money.

Someone threw a few coins in the jukebox, and Elvis twanged off the walls as the bar patrons got back to their beers and their conversations. Rocky was too busy to notice me slip into the back hallway. Concerned feminine voices drifted up the narrow, dark passage from a back room where light glowed through a half open doorway.

The other women were circled around someone, handing in tissue and consoling words. Their faces shot toward the doorway when the floor creaked beneath my foot. Roxie smiled and began a round of applause. Their bodies parted, revealing the tear stained face of their shaken coworker. The dancer who dressed like Dorothy of Oz leaned down and whispered something in Shay's ear before ushering all the other women out of the room. They whispered words of thanks and gave me pats on the back as they walked out of the room.

"Rocky will be mad if he catches you back here." Shay took a quick swipe at her tears and tossed the tissue onto the dressing table.

"I just wanted to make sure you were all right."

"I'm fine." She shrugged casually, but her fingers were trembling. "Thank you for stepping in. I thought I was going to fall face first off the stage." She forced an airy tone, but I could hear the waver behind her words.

"As long as you're all right, I'll leave you alone." I headed out the door.

"Does the offer still stand?" she asked faintly.

I stepped back into the room. "Yes. Two weeks. A hundred grand. Then you won't have to set foot in this place again."

"And I just have to stand around looking like a tasty chocolate in a chocolate shop?"

It was hard not to smile at the way she phrased things. "Yes. A chocolate shop where there's no sampling of the goods."

"What if you do sample—I mean, what happens if you break your end of the contract and—touch me. I mean not just a casual brush in the hallway, but—you know—a touch."

"Fair enough. It won't happen. But if it does, I'll pay you a million dollars." Padding the contract with a big money loss would only help me keep control.

Shay laughed. "You're just messing with me now."

"Nope. I'm not messing with you. If I screw up—which I won't—I'll pay you a million dollars."

"You are completely crazy."

"You don't know the half of it, darlin'. What do you say? A hundred grand and a two week stay in a beach house or the front seat of your car and Fantasm Strip Club where greasy haired psychos can yank you off the stage?"

"Well, when you line the two choices up like that . . ." She sighed. "I'm probably even crazier than you for considering it but yes. I'm getting a terrible kink in my neck from sleeping in my car."

"I'll have my lawyer draw up a contract. You can move in tomorrow. Do you need me to talk to Rocky? He's not going to be happy about losing his newest dancer."

"No, I'll take care of it." Shay stood from the chair and headed to the closet for her clothes. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Archer."

"Tomorrow. And since we're going to be roommates for a few weeks, you can call me Nash."